


Step one to friendship: Fail to mug them with a water gun

by CeezoCico



Category: Power Rangers, Power Rangers R.P.M.
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - No Powers, Bromance, Brother Feels, Brotherly Bonding, Brotherly Love, Brothers, Dillon's thirteen, Found Family, Gen, I'm sorry I'm very bad at tags, My goal in life is to get more people to write ziggy and dillon being buds fics, Ziggy tries to mug Dillon because that's gonna happen no matter what, Ziggy's nine, dude idk this is a power rangers fic how can I explain it to you, it's my true purpose, oh wait forgot to tag that, they usually dont have powers either but no power rangers isnt a tag, theyre street kids and they become buds, we love a bromance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-09-29
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:13:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,186
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26718832
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CeezoCico/pseuds/CeezoCico
Summary: He didn’t know a lot about himself. Not even his name. But he did know one thing, this skinny little kid trying to mug him with a water gun was starting to get on his nerves.
Relationships: Dillon & Ziggy Grover
Kudos: 13





	Step one to friendship: Fail to mug them with a water gun

**Author's Note:**

> Why did I write this? I don't know. The google docs file is called "Oh god I'm writing an rpm fic" because 'Oh god I'm writing an rpm fic'
> 
> Also please watch Power Rangers RPM it's on Netflix and I want more fics about Ziggy and Dillon's amazing bromance  
> (If you want proof of how good their bromance is read 'kind of by accident' by ham atom on fanfiction.net it's amazing)
> 
> I made the horrible mistake of having Dillon only pick a name at the very end so if the writing is ever hard to understand I apologise in advance

He didn’t know a lot about himself. Not even his name. Sometimes he figured things out. An old lady on the street, annoyingly chatty cashiers, plenty of people asked questions. He didn’t think he had an answer to most of them. Which was true. Yet when he was asked how old he was, he guessed thirteen and it felt strangely right. He didn’t think much of it until he was asked the same question again. Without thinking, he guessed fourteen. It felt wrong. So he added to the small list of things he knew about himself. He was thirteen.

Of course, that didn’t help much with the name problem. No matter what name he said, nothing felt right. Nothing clicked.

He tried to forget about it. There were much more important things to worry about. Still bothered him but he was a little more concerned about not starving. The streets of Corinth weren’t known for their generosity. Food was scarce. Well, free food at least. Though with a crazy computer virus trying to end humanity, he couldn’t blame the last city on Earth for prioritising their military over feeding the homeless.

At least it meant few bothered him. People didn’t have time to worry about a homeless kid when they were already worried about whether they would survive the next Venjix attack. He didn’t mind too much, he hated others treating him like a charity case. Good thing Corinth didn’t have time for charity.

They also didn’t have time for hygiene if the alley he was trying to sleep in was anything to go by. He wasn’t squeamish by any means but even he thought he might throw up over the smell. Everything else was perfect for some much needed restoration, the night was quiet and he was hidden from the rest of the world. Unfortunately shutting your eyes can’t stop your sense of smell. He even tried sucking on one of his many lollipops to distract but no luck. Not even taste can overpower smell.

He considered moving. He was just a sitting duck at this point, his shut eyes were like a target. Earlier, he was willing to risk it for a decent rest but now it wasn’t looking very rewarding.

He went to move, eyes about to open before an arm wrapped around his head and covered them. Something pressed against the side of his head. He would panic but the arm around his head was so skinny it had to be a little kid. Plus whatever they had to his head wasn’t a gun. It didn’t feel like cold metal, more like plastic. Wet plastic.

He slowly raised his hands, feeling the kid flinch in surprise. “H-hey! Don’t move!” The kid threatened, their voice sounding as young as he expected. Shrill and squeaky like a rusted seesaw. Definitely what he wanted to hear while trying to sleep.

“Give me everything you have and I might let you live! And that’s a big might!” They tried so hard to sound threatening, he couldn’t hold back a laugh. “You might think this is funny now, but I’m a lot more dangerous than you think!”  
“I can’t give you anything if I can’t see.” He said back, amused.

The kid stayed quiet, he assumed they hadn’t thought their plan out too much. “Well… I can’t let you do that. ‘Cause, ‘cause-”

“Because that’s a water gun?” He guessed, and considering how the kid started to stutter, he was right. “Why don’t you let me go, leave and we both pretend we never saw each other.

Reluctantly, the kid dropped their arm and stepped back, still holding up their water gun as if it served as a serious threat. The kid was just as scrawny as his voice led him to believe, looking no older than nine and even then that was pushing it. His curly brown hair made him look even less intimidating. No wonder the kid covered his eyes, no one would find him scary.

The kid didn’t move away, instead just watching him. He met his gaze and the two stared at each other before he finally gave up. He was starting to find this kid annoying. “Didn’t I tell you to leave?” He said, irritated.

“What’s with the lollipop?” The kid blurted out, eying up the stick hanging out of his mouth.

Oh yeah, he had forgotten about that. “I like lollipops. Lasts longer than most food.” He answered with a shrug.

“Where’d you get it?” The kid asked.

He rolled his eyes, “Do you always ask so many questions?” He was starting to consider leaving again. This kid was starting to give him a worse headache than the smell did.

The kid sat down, which he definitely didn’t tell him he could do. “You didn’t give me an answer!” He whined, pouting.

“Fine tough guy, I bought them.” He explained, reaching into his and pulling out another lollipop. He threw it at the kid, grinning as it slammed into his face. The kid grunted, letting the lollipop fall into his hands. 

He undid the wrapping and stuck the lollipop into his mouth. He began to suck on it before pulling a face, “Lemon! Why did you get lemon? Everyone knows apple tastes way better.”

“Lemon’s the cheapest kind you can buy in bulk,” He explained, “And I like lemon.”

The kid hummed, going back to sucking on his lollipop and granting him with a few moments of blissful silence. But then the kid had to break it, “My name’s Ziggy by the way.”

He said nothing back, not having a name to answer with. He was still annoyed at Ziggy for not leaving yet but the kid seemed to decide he wanted to stay. He thought it would be best to just wait him out. Ziggy would get bored eventually and leave. Probably to go and fail to mug someone else with a water gun.

“You know when someone tells you their name you’re meant to say yours back. It’s kind of a call and response thing.” Ziggy said, speaking around his lollipop. Despite not liking the taste originally, he seemed to grow more accustomed to it. Or he realised free food was still free food no matter the flavour. 

“I don’t know.” He said back, annoyed. He already didn’t like how little he knew about himself, but to be reminded by some kid who thought a water gun was a good weapon? Didn’t make him feel too great.

Ziggy smiled as if this was all some big joke, “You don’t know if you want to tell me your name?”

He looked away, starting to go from annoyed to angry, “I don’t know my name.”

“Oh.” Ziggy sucked on his lollipop contemplatively, “Well… You should come up with a name then!”

“What?” He squinted at the younger boy in disbelief, “Why would I do that?”

Now it was Ziggy’s turn to look at him in disbelief, “Why wouldn’t you do that? You get to pick the coolest name you can think of! Like Axel or something! Plus you gotta have a name!”

“Well, I’ll tell you if I think of one.” He stood up, hoping the kid would get the hint and leave him alone.

Ziggy scrambled to his feet. Great. “You know If we’re going to be partners, we need to work on our communication skills. I mean, I feel like there’s some barrier between us.”

“Who said we’re partners?” He replied, starting to walk out of the alley. It had turned dark long ago. He didn’t have the time but he guessed they were closer to dawn than dusk. The time when kids were meant to be asleep. But not him. How lucky.

Ziggy skidded in front of him, blocking his path to the open street. “Me! The Zigmeister can do plenty with a guy like you. Plus your endless supply of lollipops is great, though I think we need to get you a new favourite flavour.”

The way the kid talked like he was the powerful one as if he could manifest his strength through words alone was almost amusing. Full of confidence in a world that held no respect for him, maybe it’s how Ziggy lasted so long despite being as intimidating as a puppy who can’t even open their eyes.

“Zigmeister?” He laughed. A true, genuine laugh. Maybe the lack of sleep was getting to him. Or maybe the kid just made him laugh.

“Yep, that’s my cool nickname! All cool guys have just as cool nicknames!” Ziggy bragged, beaming. Despite the lack of light, the kid didn’t seem afraid.

“Alright then, Zigmeister,” He barely held back another laugh, “If we become partners, what’s in it for me?”

Ziggy grinned, accompanying his smile with a jazz hand from the hand not holding his water gun. “Shadow puppets!”

Dillon bit his lip, the only thing stopping him falling onto the dirty floors of Corinth in a mess of laughter was the fear of alerting someone nearby. “Shadow puppets?” He managed, failing to look even one bit annoyed.

“Magnificent shadow puppets,” Ziggy repeated, reaching behind his back into his bag and pulling out a wind-up flashlight. He went to turn the lever before pausing. He couldn’t turn it while holding his water gun. Ziggy seemed to debate his options, first moving to place it between his legs before looking up at him warily. “Can you hold this for me while I show you? You gotta promise to give it back though.” His voice was surprisingly serious as if losing this water gun was the difference between life and death. 

“Oh, sure-” He reached forward for the water gun before being cut off.

“Promise?” Ziggy asked again, his grip tightening subconsciously as he approached.

He smiled reassuringly, “Promise.” He wasn’t sure why he promised, he wasn’t sure why he even stuck around long enough to have to. He could probably still leave, just start walking away while the kid was distracted by his shadow puppets. But he didn’t want to.

Ziggy passed the water gun to him, an act of trust that seemed so big yet really was so small. It made him feel… Weird. But a good weird. Weird in its lack of familiarity but not its feeling. It was a warmth that felt foreign, but surprisingly welcome.

After winding up his flashlight, Ziggy propped the light towards the alley’s wall and started to show off his ‘magnificent’ shadow puppets. They were just normal animals, a shark, a rabbit, a dolphin that looked very similar to the shark though Ziggy thought they looked different, etcetera. It was fun. So dumb he couldn’t help but be amused. But that seemed to be Ziggy’s whole thing. A nice contrast to what he usually got from Corinth.

“So, partners?” Ziggy asked, picking his light up from the ground. He slipped it back into his bag, the street lamps nearby providing them with enough light already. He was giddy. Maybe the sugar from his lollipop was finally catching up to him.

He smiled, “Yeah, partners.” He replied with ease he didn’t expect, as if this was the easiest decision he had ever made.

Ziggy’s giddiness grew at that response and it was only then that he realised it was the source of it. The kid was happy to have him by his side, someone he had only just met. Someone who didn’t even know his name. That was new.

“Well then, partner. I can tell that you’re super tired and about to pass out so we should go find somewhere to sleep for the night.” He could already tell Ziggy was lying, but then Ziggy’s barely suppressed yawn came along and made the kid look like an even bigger idiot.

Still, he rolled his eyes and walked back to the alley, finding the smell much more bearable now that he was so tired. Ziggy trailed behind him, not even hiding his yawn as his sugar crash kicked in fully. He should probably be warier about giving the kid lollipops in the future.

He slumped against the wall, sliding to the floor and finding as comfortable of a spot someone can find against cold concrete and brick walls. Ziggy reached into his bag before sitting down, pulling out a green blanket. It was old, or at least very well loved, covered in faded spots and stains no washing machine could ever hope to get out. He had shut his eyes after that, so he was surprised to feel a small warmth press into his side and a blanket drift across his body. Something came to him at that moment, something he had thought he had lost forever.

“Dillon.” He whispered, testing it out loud. It felt right. Just like his age had.

Ziggy stirred next to him, having already slipped close to sleep. “Wha..?” He mumbled, eyes still shut.

“My name. You can call me Dillon.” He whispered back, shocked that he felt guilty for prolonging Ziggy’s sleep.

Ziggy let out a grunt of acknowledgement, nestling closer into Dillon’s side. “‘Kay, night Dillon.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed my fic about Ziggy and Dillon being street kids and then becoming buds because I sure as hell enjoyed writing it  
> If you did somehow enjoy what is basically just me writing myself a comfort fic leave a kudos or a comment or something maybe?


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